Compare and Contrast Essay of Two Stories by Flannery O'Connor
“A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People"
Great fiction and essay writer, Flannery O'Connor, once in her work stated that “the basis of art is truth, both in matter and in mode.”(O'Connor) She was definitely right about this. Most of the critics claim that she was one of the best writers in southern America in the 20th century. Flannery O'Connor had a very special writing style, characterized as southern gothic which has bothered and split characteristics in threatening situations.
In her works she researched the themes of morality and religion, additionally, in some of them she described how these two contradict each other. This writer wrote a plethora of great stories including ones under the titles “A good man is hard to find" and "Good Country People". These two works are quintessential of her peculiar style. It cannot be denied that each her work is unique, therefore this essay is dedicated to finding out what are the similarities and differences between these two masterpieces. However, it would be beneficial before comparing “A good man is hard to find" and "Good Country People" to comprehend the essence of peculiar characteristics of her writing style.
It can be observed from her stories that apart from concerned characters and southern characteristics, Flannery O'Connor’s works possess features of grotesque and appalling twists. In addition to this, Flannery perfectly utilizes foreshadowing. Another prominent feature of the writer is that she permanently used unresolved endings which urge her reader to the limitless amount of contemplation and to the creation of their own concussions. Moreover, in her writings, she greatly used grotesque characters in order to elaborate her Christian themes. As Flannery pointed out once, it happens when the freak may be sensed like a figure for necessary displacement that he acquires depth in literature. Therefore, such brief analysis of the writing style of Flannery O'Connor could help the readers to understand easily the essence of her stories.
To begin with, the story “A good man is hard to find" has a bevy of controversial opinions about itself. Some connoisseurs of Flannery O'Connor’s works state that this piece of art is just a cynical tale, ruthless in the way that it reveals human manipulation and pettiness. Other people claim that it resembles a black comedy or even a horror story. However, there are also people who still thinks that this story is an illustration of the enigmatic ways God acts through humans above and over their will.
From the day of publication, “A good man is hard to find" has remained Flannery O'Connor’s the most acknowledged story, which made her recognized as the modern master of the short stories and as a major voice of the Southern literature. During the author’s lifetime, there were many various reactions to her works. It is “A good man is hard to find", which has been always in the center of all …
